Woman found dead ‘was loved very much,’ her family says
Family UPPER ARLINGTON — members continue to mourn the loss of Bobbie Simpson, who was found in Burbank Park in Upper Arlington on Oct. 14.
Carol Simpson prayed for a sign that her daughter was at peace.
Moments later, a blue jay appeared at the window of her home in Jackson.
Carol Simpson said she knew the bird was sent by her daughter because blue was 23-year-old Bobbie Simpson’s favorite color.
It’s the color of the dress Simpson bought for her daughter to be buried in.
“She was a good girl, an honor roll student,” Simpson said. “She was loved very much.”
The love was evident during a vigil held Thursday night at Burbank Park in Upper Arlington, yards away from where Bobbie Simpson’s body was found on fire.
The outpouring of support from the community has helped Simpson’s family heal, said Skylar Speakman, Simpson’s older sister.
“It hits hard, but there’s joy that so many people are interested in her story,” Speakman said.
Growing up, the two sisters were inseparable. They had bunk beds but would sleep in the same bed when they were young. Even after they got separate rooms, the two would end up in the same one most nights.
Speakman jokingly described her sister as a “terror” who would follow her to sleepovers and birthday parties and tried to be like her big sister.
“She wanted to act just like me,” Speakman said. “I would try and tell her she was beautiful just the way she was.”
Now those memories are all her family has of the woman whose life started to go downhill after getting involved with “the wrong person” as a teenager.
Carol Simpson had tried to take her daughter to drug rehab several times, but she would run away and couldn’t be forced to stay.
“Every time I’d get her there, she’d run out,” Carol Simpson said.
After she turned 18, Bobbie Simpson fell in with the wrong crowd, resulting in addiction issues and her turning to prostitution. She was arrested three times for solicitation in the past year on the Sullivant Avenue corridor.
The way Simpson was living took a toll on her family, who continued to love her and fight for her to get help.
“We all tried,” Carol Simpson said. “We tried so hard.”
Now, Bobbie Simpson’s family wonders if her lifestyle contributed to her death.
Her body was found on fire around 8:30 a.m. Investigative notes from the Franklin County Coroner’s Office indicate she had been placed in a container that was set on fire and there were obvious and significant signs of trauma to her upper body.
Upper Arlington police continue to investigate her death in the hopes of finding the person or persons 937 746 2975 . . responsible.
In the meantime, Bobbie Simpson’s family clings to their memories.
She was strong-willed, her family said. But with her strong will came a heart that loved fiercely.
“If she was in the room, everyone knew she was there,” Carol Simpson said.
Simpson was a typical teenager, playing basketball in high school and making the honor roll.
She also loved to dance, her mother said.
But she could also make people laugh, even in situations where she was causing mayhem.
Carol Simpson clearly remembers a birthday party for a kitten, thrown by Bobbie and her sister in the kitchen of the family’s home.
Doritos were everywhere and the kitchen was a mess, but Simpson and her sister had wanted to celebrate their pet.
“They were sitting there with their little pop-bottle glasses,” Carol Simpson said. “She was so cute.”
Speakman said she doesn’t want another family to suffer as hers has, including the family of the person responsible for what happened to her sister.
“I want him to sit behind those bars and think about her,” Speakman said. “I hope it makes him sick to know how many people loved her.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses. Speakman said any money contributed beyond the costs of a funeral and burial will be donated to organizations helping women battling addiction and working the streets.
Simpson’s funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Our Mother of Sorrows Chapel at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Lockbourne. A visitation will be held 30 minutes before the service.
Anyone with information about Bobbie Simpson’s death is asked to call Upper Arlington police at 614-583-5160.